Engineering & BIM

In-house capacity, from foundations to finishing

At all times the teams of BESIX can rely on the expertise and creativity of its in-house engineering department, with offices in Brussels and Dubai. Our over 150 engineers have the right attitude, competences and experience to maximize the value of our projects for and with our clients. Honoring the first time right principle, we ensure intense collaboration between the off and on site teams for a flawless execution, cutting failure cost.

In order to ensure our strong commitment to constructability and safety BESIX Engineering department can build on the expertise of an integrated methods and planning department.

By uniting the knowhow of our experts, many of which are also academic authorities in their field, we can offer full-fledged solutions.

Strength through diversity:

The design manager

Ensures the right balance is obtained between technical, financial and cost aspects of the works and is our ambassador towards our client and the site.

The geotechnical expert

Specifies the geotechnical site investigations, analyses the results and establishes a state of the art geotechnical design.

The method and planning engineer

Ensures the constructability in terms of safety and production of our designs.

The structural engineer

is responsible for all engineering aspects of the project, the models, drawing and verification to secure practical an buildable structures

The BIM manager

is responsible to set up and follow up the agreed rules to manage both geometrical (3D models) as well as non-geometrical information (specifications, codes,…)

The production center

Takes care to produce the necessary high quality shop drawings within the agreed schedule

The design coordinator

solves in due time all coordination issues between the different design trades (structural, MEP, façade, architecture, …)

BIG in BIM

Since 2010, BESIX has been embracing the new opportunities Building Information Modeling has brought to the construction sector. We have created a strong team which has been involved in more than 70 projects worldwide. Using BIM enables us to anticipate, prioritise and solve clashes and supports an agile approach when sudden change requests occur.

BIM is a way of sharing information between a number of partners on a construction project, creating a structured way of organising the whole process using digital 3D models.

In practical terms, BIM creates a model of a construction that no longer uses lines, but instead, digital objects representing the materials and systems: the frame, roofing, walls, installations etc. This technique guarantees an accurate representation of the project, but it also lets you associate certain details with the digital objects, such as their technical properties, their relationship with other objects, how they will be positioned etc.

The BIM approach offers a solution to the problems often encountered on a building site by analysing the sources of any conflicts in advance, so-called “clash detection”, which significantly reduces the cost of errors.

Grand Egyptian Museum (Egypt)The project’s scale (200 000 m2) and huge geometrical complexity called for the use of BIM in order to allow a smooth and smart coordination of the works. 60 BIM engineers generated 13 000 shop drawing plans to prepare works and procurement for this gigantic project.

Velsertunnel (The Netherlands)BESIX scanned the entire tunnel to create a virtual 3D 'twin' model. This enabled our partners to anticipate a myriad of issues before setting to work in the physical tunnel. The dress rehearsals prevented no less than 1,032 complications at the worksite.

Beatrix Lock (The Netherlands)Virtual reality was used to create an environment which could be visited by maintenance technicians allowing them to give their input early in the design process in order to optimize the maintainability of the lock doors. The VR model was connected to the command and control system, giving the traffic managers of our client a 100% realistic experience of the functionality and UX (user experience) of the future lock.

Value Engineering

BESIX is experienced in providing ‘value engineering’, a creative and organised process of thorough study and analysis that combines the insights of multidisciplinary teams, benefiting the entire life cycle of a project. The goal is to limit building costs, maximally reduce risks and prolong a project’s life span without compromising the functional objectives. This holistic, integrated design approach is crucial in completing demanding DBM or PPP projects.

SITUATION

Velser motorway tunnel in A22 below the Northsea channel has become of age (60 years old) and is hampering road traffic: a total refurbishing is required
Works include modification of height clearance to allow high trucks to pass underneath, new escape routes and a modification of the renewal of all tunnel technical installations (ventilation and fire extinguishing systems)

SITUATION

Rijkswaterstaat wanted to get a better view of the pivotal anchor area ‘De Steenbank’ in order to ensure safe navigation and a smooth flow of shipping in all weather conditions. BESIX was awarded the contract for building an unmanned Schelde radar chain tower on Neeltje Jans, in 2013.

CHALLENGES

High-rise towers sway in the wind. In order to guarantee a highly stable radar image however, the tower required a substantial amount of rigidity so as to diminish the maximum angular rotation of the top to only 0,25°. At the same time, this rigidity needed to be secured in all conditions, even in storms with winds up to wind force 11, and for a lengthy period of time.

SOLUTION

BESIX commissioned several wind tunnel tests to determine the wind forces to which the top of the tower would be exposed. Based on the results, BESIX redesigned the level and the support structure of the radar. This new design also took into account the strict requirements with regards to longevity and reliability. To ensure rigidity, BESIX opted for strengthening the concrete by post-tensioning. This required our teams to design and compile a specific kind of concrete.

RESULT

As a result of the optimized redesign of the structure of the tower by BESIX, the Neeltje Jans concrete radar tower is now the highest nautical radar tower in Europe, boasting one of the most advanced civilian radar antennas in the world.

SITUATION

The renovation of the existing flood barriers and the construction of a new third one in the Beatrix Lock is the third project of a programme adopted by Rijkswaterstaat. This programme aims to ensure uniformity in a total of 6 projects for the replacement of existing flood barriers or locks. Tendering for this DBFM project started in 2014. The maintenance contract covers a period of 27 years after completion.

CHALLENGES

The project presented a twofold challenge. As the Beatrix Lock is a national monument visible from afar, the design had to be presented so as to minimally impact the appearance of the site. On top of that, the project includes a maintenance contract of 27 years. The revenues of this extended period are strongly influenced by the reliability and availability of the lock.

SOLUTION

BESIX fitted the third lock with double rolling gates. This ensures that the lock can still be used, even if one of the gates is out of use because of an accident or maintenance works. Furthermore, if only the outer rolling gates are used, the length of the lock is extended from 270 metres to 297 metres, allowing not one, but two 135-metre-long ships to be levelled. This is called ‘levelling XL’.

RESULT

The awarding of the contract was done based on the criterium of EMVI (best value for money). The plans drawn up by BESIX guarantee the availability of two of the three locks at all times during the works. This advantage, in combination with the design of the double rolling gates which will highly increase the reliability and availability of the lock without changing much of the historic appearance, is what prompted Rijkswaterstaat to work with a consortium including BESIX.

SITUATION

Operational LNG berthing facility in Ras Laffan Port (Qatar) needed urgent repairs due to concrete fissuration caused by Delayed Ettringite Formation. The unreinforced concrete structure showed a high collapse risk.
The occupancy rate of the 12 Ras Laffan berth is above 70%. Closing a berth for repair substantially impacts the gas export capacity of Qatar. Ras Laffan managed to close the berth for 2 months at the most.

SOLUTION

BESIX built steel boxes outside the activity area, lifting them from the working area and floating them to their final location. Once installed around the structure to support, they are filled with concrete to take over the function of the existing structure.

RESULT

Using this challenging method and thanks to the internal design capacity of BESIX and its ability to incorporate the construction method from day one into the design process. BESIX was able to construct and install the structure within the challenging time frame imposed.

Shorten project delivery by a year
King Abdullah Sport City Stadium, KSA, (2011-2013)

SITUATION

Aramco awarded this contract to the JV BESIX-Six Construct and Al Muhaidib in September 2011 for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction of the entire complex, i.e.: a prestigious 60,000 seat football arena, a mosque, 2 external football pitches, 6 tennis courts, 4 five-a-side pitches, an extensive visitors car park and all necessary access roads, drainage and networks.
The initial construction period agreed was 40 months.
After a few months, Aramco requested this period to be reduced to 26 months.

SOLUTION

Drastic acceleration of the construction process through
- converting the initial ‘cast in situ’ into a ‘largely precast’ concrete structure by BESIX Engineering from an early stage of the design
- all the details of the molds, precast yards, cycles, connections, lifting equipment and shop drawings were developed in house.
- increasing the number of molds and production teams (up to 6.000 skilled laborers)
- efficient detailing

RESULT

The stadium was delivered one year ahead of initial planning in November 2013.